Bhagavad Gītā › Chapter 3 › Verse 15
Bhagavad Gītā 3.15: Where action comes from
कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम् ।
तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
karma brahmodbhavaṃ viddhi brahmākṣarasamudbhavam
tasmātsarvagataṃ brahma nityaṃ yajñe pratiṣṭhitam
Recitation: NehalDaveND (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted, original recording
Meaning
Know that action arises from Brahman, and Brahman from the Imperishable; therefore the all-pervading Brahman is ever established in sacrifice. Commentators such as Śaṅkara read “brahman” here as the Veda, which teaches action and springs from the Imperishable; others read it as the ultimate reality itself. Either way, offering links everyday action to its eternal source.
For children
Krishna says: “Good work comes from something very holy, and that holy thing is everywhere. So when we do good work as a gift, the holy is right there with us.”
Kṛṣṇa continues the cycle of 3.14 and traces it back to its eternal source.
Word by word
कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भवं विद्धि — Know that action comes from the sacred word (Brahman)
- karman: action
- brahmodbhava: arising from Brahman (the Veda)
- viddhi: know!
ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भवम् — and the sacred word from the Imperishable
- akṣara: the Imperishable
- samudbhava: arising from
तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म — so the all-present sacred
- tasmāt: therefore
- sarvagata: present everywhere
- brahman: Brahman, the sacred
नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम् — always rests in offering
- nitya: always
- yajña: offering
- pratiṣṭhita: established
Kṛṣṇa speaks this verse. The Sanskrit is checked against four editions; meanings and word notes are simple learning aids written for MahaPrabha Gurukul, awaiting review by a Sanskrit teacher.